The mountain road was pitch black, with no one in sight. Xiang Sheng was delighted and headed straight for the brightly lit Merit Hall at the foot of the mountain.
The "Eternal Life Sutra" was indeed very easy to learn as Qin Ji said. Less than half a minute after she got it, she had cultivated a wisp of true energy.
However, its strength is directly proportional to the difficulty of cultivation. The true Qi is extremely weak. If one practices it wholeheartedly, it will probably not have any effect except for living for a few decades longer.
Xiang Sheng had expected this and was not disappointed, but rather quite happy.
If she still had mixed spiritual roots, practicing the "Eternal Life Sutra" would definitely not be easy. It seemed that her aptitude had indeed improved, and now she was only one orthodox mental method away from the great path of cultivation.
While she was thinking, Xiang Shengren had already reached the door of the Merit Hall. She went in without hesitation.
There were not many people in the Merit Hall at night. Only one window was open, and an old man in a sky-blue robe was dozing off inside.
Xiang Sheng knocked on the window. The old man opened his eyes, took a look, and then closed them again.
Xiang Sheng didn't get angry. He took out two pill bottles and placed them on the window. He said in a deep voice, "Elder, I want to exchange them for a contribution to the sect."
Perhaps Xiang Sheng's voice was too serious, the old man opened his eyes again, with impatience in his eyes, but his hands moved quickly, and with a wave of his sleeves he swept away the two bottles of medicine pills in front of the window.
He uncorked the bottle and sniffed it, his impatient expression immediately becoming intriguing. "Have you ever tasted the elixir in this bottle?"
Xiang Sheng's expression changed slightly, but he didn't answer.
The old man didn't care about her reaction. He was in high spirits at the moment and simply poured out all the pills and counted them. He said to himself, "Hmm... a total of 39. It seems that I took one."
Xiang Sheng glanced at the pill bottle Fourteen gave her and asked, "What's wrong with the elixir?"
"The elixir itself is quite effective, mild in nature, and of high quality, but it contains a poison called Soul Sound Grass."
The old man replied cheerfully, "This Soul Sound Grass is a method used by casual cultivators to control others. It's rare. I was lucky enough to come across it when I was training in the mountains in my early years. Even a tiny amount is enough to make someone obediently subject to a unique sound, and no matter what that person says, they will do it."
Xiang Sheng's face turned grim. "How much contribution can it get?"
The old man chuckled, "This Soul Sound Grass is rare. Ordinary elixirs cost ten contribution points each, but I'll give you fifty for these. I'll round off the thirty-nine to two thousand."
"good!"
Handing the token to Xiang Sheng, the old man flipped it over and glanced at his name. He then wrote down his contribution under the token and handed it back, smiling as he asked:
"Little girl, I have a way to unlock the soul sound technique in your body. Two thousand contributions are barely enough. Are you willing?"
Xiang Sheng suddenly looked up at the old man, with a look of surprise and joy, then a conflicted expression. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Could you please let me consider it?"
"Can."
The old man nodded happily, but his eyes were always fixed on Xiang Sheng.
Xiang Sheng's mind raced, and he immediately understood the reason. He asked anxiously and urgently, "Disciple...if I were to come and look for you, what title should I use to find you, the elder?"
The old man's smile suddenly deepened. "My surname is Yuan. I am the only elder with this surname in the entire Inner Gate Merit Hall. It won't be difficult to find someone."
Xiang Sheng's face suddenly showed enlightenment. "Disciple understands. Then...disciple will take his leave."
Elder Yuan waved his hand, letting Xiang Sheng leave, and lay down again, rocking slowly.
It was an unexpected fortune.
He did not lie to Xiang Sheng. Soul Sound Grass was indeed rare, but it was not enough to cause the value of the elixir to skyrocket fivefold to as much as fifty.
He did this all for himself.
The monthly salary of the elder in charge of inner sect affairs is really pitifully low. Recently, because a serious incident happened to a true disciple, his monthly salary was cut by 30%, and he is really unable to make ends meet.
Due to the sect rules, he could not force any disciple to trade with him, but Xiang Sheng would come to him whenever he wanted to escape the control of the Soul Sound Technique.
This is a voluntary act by the disciple, so he can cleverly circumvent the sect rules and let this generous contribution fall into his pocket.
Thinking of this, Elder Yuan couldn't help but laugh out loud.
He could smell the scent of the Soul Sound Grass, but he had no idea how to dispel the Soul Sound spell. If he did, how could he still be here as an ordinary elder?
The little girl is young and naive, so she is easy to deceive.
However, Xiang Sheng, who was described by Elder Yuan as simple and gullible, immediately went to the Sutra Library after stepping out of the Merit Hall, spent all his contributions, and returned to the villa before dawn.
Inside the room, Xiang Sheng lit the oil lamp in front of the table, put the "Eternal Life Sutra" aside, took out a purple-covered book from his arms, and placed it solemnly in front of him.
"Three True Methods", a method of cultivating the true heart for the lower level of human rank.
Among the many mental methods in the Sutra Library, this one is only slightly better than the "Eternal Life Sutra" and is classified as an orthodox mental method for cultivation. However, due to its incompleteness, its upper limit is only up to the foundation-building stage.
Two thousand contributions is not a small number, but the cultivation method of the mind is surprisingly expensive, so it can only be exchanged for this incomplete method. Anything else that is more powerful or related to the Jindan stage requires a minimum of five thousand contributions, not to mention the others.
But even so, Xiang Sheng was already satisfied.
The monthly salary for inner disciples is only fifty tribute. If she follows the rules, it will take her three years and four months to learn such a mental method.
How long is three years?
How many accidents will happen?
Am I dead or alive?
She didn't even dare to think about it.
Xiang Wenli probably didn't expect that those elixirs not only failed to control her, but also helped her a lot, right?
Under the flickering candlelight, Xiang Sheng's eyes turned cold. She could see that Xiang Wenli was a heartless person, but she didn't expect him to be so vicious.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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